Worshippers remember victims of communism at St. Vitus Cathedral

Crowds gathered in Prague’s Saint Vitus Cathedral this Sunday at a special mass to commemorate the victims of communism. Worship was led by bishop Václav Malý, who referred to the Communist coup of February 1948 in his sermon as a ‘tragedy, which should never be repeated’. Bishop Malý also preached forgiveness, asking victims of the communist regime to ‘forgive, but not forget’. The service comes a day before the 60th anniversary of the so-called ‘bloodless coup’, when Communist forces seized power in post-war Czechoslovakia. In the period of Communist rule from 1948 to 1989, over 262,000 political prisoners were jailed or sent to labour camps, where thousands perished. A further 241 people were executed, having been found guilty of performing ‘anti-communist acts’.